It’s hard to top these ‘pumpkin, spinach & feta spelt muffins’ warm straight from the oven. These muffins go beautifully with soups, or eaten warm as a tasty snack. I’m going to pop one in my little girls lunch box tomorrow. The rich orange colour of a pumpkin tells us that they are a great source of beta-carotene, a highly effective antioxidant and immune strengthening nutrient. Beta-carotene is converted to vitamin A in the body, which helps promote good eyesight and healthy gums. Spinach provides us with plenty of blood building iron, as well as vitamin K for strong healthy bones, and folate an important vitamin for pregnant women. Cheese is rich in calcium, protein and vitamin D, all important bone building nutrients. Adding some pumpkin and sunflower seeds to these muffins will give them a boost in zinc, which is essential for reproductive health and wound healing. Zinc is particularly important for men, to produce healthy good quality sperm and to prevent prostate cancer. I really like cooking with spelt as it makes a lovely light textured muffin. Spelt is an ancient species of wheat so it does contain gluten, but it tends to be easier to digest than regular wheat, and can be tolerated by many who are sensitive to wheat. Spelt has a higher protein and fibre content compared to wheat too.

Ingredients:

Dice up 2 cups of jap pumpkin

A big handful of baby spinach, chopped

½ cup grated low-fat tasty cheese

100g of low-fat feta, cut into cubes

2 Tbsp of sunflower seeds

2 organic eggs

¾ cup organic milk

2 cups organic spelt flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

2 Tbsp of pumpkin seeds for topping

Method:

Preheat oven to 200*C. Grease a 12 hole muffin tray.

Steam pumpkin until soft and put it in a medium bowl. Add grated cheese and feta, sunflower seeds, and spinach, and gently mix.

In another bowl whisk eggs and milk together. Then stir through flour and baking powder, and add mixture to pumpkin mix. Gently combine mixture, making sure you don’t over do it.

Spoon muffin mixture into muffin tray and sprinkle some pumpkin seeds on top. Then bake for 20 minutes. Check that a skewer comes out cleanly.